EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
Learning A-Z | January 12, 2023
Learning A-Z, a subsidiary of the Cambium Learning Group, has announced the addition of its totally redesigned Writing A-Z® product to its superior range of learning solutions. Writing A-Z is a new and improved curriculum option for K–5 students that draw on the Learning A-Z principles of valuing the teacher at the center of the classroom. In addition, the platform provides teachers with customizable, user-friendly tools that foster excellent student results.
In addition, Learning A-Z has, for the first time, made a Teacher Grant Program available to K–5 educators interested in discovering new and innovative ways to improve student writing achievement. The winners of the grants will receive a one-year subscription to Writing A-Z. The application deadline for awards is January 31, 2023, and grants will be distributed on February 10, 2023.
Lisa O'Masta, President of Learning A-Z, said, "Writing is an essential part of K–5 education and deeply connected to the instruction of literacy." She further added, "The most recent NAEP writing scores show that nearly ¾ of students in grades 8-12 are not writing at a proficient level. Because students write daily and the practice is a foundation of their educational experience, we've recognized the need for new writing tools that are even more innovative and easy to use and are committed to delivering these tools into the hands of teachers."
Using Writing A-Z, teachers assist students in the development of their writing abilities through research-based education. Writing A-Z combines best practices for teachers with guided practice for students to facilitate writing achievement in the classroom. Lesson plans that are simple to apply, digital writing and grammar practice, and continuous professional learning are some of the elements that make Writing A-Z a comprehensive and user-friendly writing solution for K–5 education.
About Learning A-Z
Learning A-Z is an emerging provider of literacy-focused PreK–6 education technology solutions. The company's products combine traditional teacher-led instruction with technology-enabled resources to make teaching more efficient and effective, practice more personalized and accessible, assessment more automated and strategic, and learning more proactive and informed. Its award-winning digital products, such as Raz-Kids and Reading A-Z, are used by more than 12 million students in over 170 countries.
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EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
Emtrain | January 09, 2023
Emtrain, an emerging revolutionary eLearning and analytics solution provider, announced it will serve as Cisco's exclusive diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training partner for a global initiative that will provide anti-discrimination and inclusive culture analytics and training to the company's partners and suppliers. The partnership builds on Cisco's promise to offer anti-discrimination and inclusive culture training to all of its employees and make it available to the rest of the Cisco ecosystem.
We've seen time and time again how companies can influence behavior and society beyond just their own workplace. At Cisco, we have made a commitment to promoting and advancing social justice within and outside the company, and we know we can lean into our ecosystem of partners and suppliers to join us on this journey," stated Cisco EVP and Chief Policy & Purpose Officer Fran Katsoudas. He also said, "We're choosing Emtrain to help us because they have been instrumental in helping us measure and improve our internal pro-social skills, which leads to increased diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we're confident they can do the same for our broader ecosystem." (Source – Cision PR Newswire)
According to Katsoudas, Emtrain was picked for this function because they have demonstrated success in acquiring employee perception data and delivering benchmarked DEI scorecards and analytics while concurrently engaging individuals with relevant, timely content. Cisco earned a 92% completion rate for their employee-inclusive culture training earlier this year.
"More than ever before, businesses are influencing our culture. Cisco has the size and reach to create a new standard and expectation for D&I."
Janine Yancey, Emtrain's founder and CEO.
The "Building Skills for a Conscious Culture" course was made available to Cisco partners at the 2022 Partner Summit on November 1 and is presently being implemented with select suppliers.
About Emtrain
Founded in 2004 by Janine Yancey, Emtrain is a provider of eLearning and analytics that quantify the impact of workplace social dynamics. The company's solutions go beyond compliance to foster inclusivity, ethics, and respect as professional competencies through the use of video-based skill-building training. Emtrain collaborates with industry professionals and uses current events to create video-based training content on themes including sexual harassment, unconscious bias, respect, and ethics.
More than 600 companies, including Bed Bath & Beyond, Genentech, and LiveNation, use Emtrain's platform. Recognized by Fast Company as one of the "World Changing Ideas 2020" and one of the "Inc. 5000 2021" fastest-growing companies. Emtrain is a woman-owned and driven firm funded by venture capital.
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EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
PRnewswire | March 23, 2023
Procare Solutions is pleased to offer a new way for child care centers to bolster their educational offerings by including integrated assessments within Procare's classroom management capability.
With the release of Vine Assessments™, Procare Solutions has become the only provider of child care management software to offer integrated proprietary early childhood assessments for children from birth to 5 years old at no additional cost.
Vine Assessments is an integrated framework that gives early childhood educators and staff a way to clearly articulate the growth and development of children in their care. It includes clear and easy childhood assessments that align with all 50 state standards and provides developmental continuums with 21 goals that apply to children from birth to age 5 as they prepare for kindergarten.
"When early childhood educators can provide a robust assessment to their children and families, it elevates the learning and development of the children in their care and helps transform their businesses into true early childhood education programs," said Jon Pollock, chief product officer of Procare Solutions.
With 91% agreement rate among child care professionals, Vine Assessments are easy to use and understand.
Child care centers are leading providers of early childhood education and are at the forefront of addressing delays to help young learners recover from setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Children born during the pandemic are scoring lower on average on tests of gross motor, fine motor, social and problem-solving skills compared with those born before COVID-19, studies have shown.
In addition to learning delays, many of these children are talking, walking and interacting later and less frequently.
"Children need age-appropriate assessments well before entering kindergarten, as well as assessments that teachers of all experience levels can conduct accurately and without additional stress during their already busy days," said JoAnn Kintzel, CEO of Procare Solutions. "We are continually looking for ways to help centers foster the growth of children in their care, which is something Vine Assessments can help achieve."
"The list of 21 goals is a solid list that providers will find familiar and useful. The numbering system is very intuitive and helpful for navigating the instrument," said Dr. Kristen Burmester, director of administration and operations of the early childhood education program at the University of California at Berkeley.
Teachers using Procare will be able to tie their lessons and observations directly to the appropriate Vine Assessment indicator from the web-based software and Procare child care mobile app.
The simplicity of the Vine Assessments for teachers is what won over Melissa L. Hood, director of early childhood education at the Calvert School in Baltimore.
Her center uses Vine Assessments for all 150 kids at their two centers.
"Assessments provided by the state were too cumbersome and more suited to elementary school-aged children," she said. "They sometimes were 15 pages long and too difficult for parents to decipher."
A childhood assessment conducted through Vine Assessments offered a better alternative.
"It's to the point, it's accurate, it relates to age-appropriateness," she said. "Our teachers like Vine Assessments much better than the state-provided assessments."
About Procare Solutions
For more than 30 years, Procare Solutions has been the leading provider of child care management software, family engagement, integrated payment processing, technology and services. Procare is used by two out of three child care businesses that use child care management software. The company supports more than 37,000 child care centers, preschools, daycares, after school programs, camps and related facilities with comprehensive software that has the power to manage every aspect of their business, enrich classroom and family interactions, and automate the payment process. Procare offers web-based, on-premises and cloud-hosting solutions and supports customers of all sizes from single-center operations to complex multinational enterprises.
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